'Stand and fight' for gun rights, NRA's LaPierre urges

Email Newsletters

Daily Photo Galleries

Traveling by Jeep, boat and foot, Tribune-Review investigative reporter Carl Prine and photojournalist Justin Merriman covered nearly 2,000 miles over two months along the border with Mexico to report on coyotes — the human traffickers who bring illegal immigrants into the United States. Most are Americans working for money and/or drugs. This series reports how their operations have a major impact on life for residents and the environment along the border — and beyond.

By The Associated Press

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, 8:48 p.m.

NASHVILLE — National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre renewed his call on Thursday for armed guards in schools and urged gun owners to “stand and fight” for the Second Amendment.

In a speech billed as the NRA response to President Obama's State of the Union call for new gun regulations, LaPierre noted in remarks to the National Wild Turkey Federation in Nashville that the speech didn't mention school security. He dismissed Obama's calls for background checks for all firearms purchases and bans on assault weapons and ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

“We will not be duped by the hypocrisy in the White House or the Congress who would deny our right to semi-automatic technology, and the magazines we need to defend ourselves and our families,” he said.

LaPierre said the proponents' real intentions would be to “ban every gun they can, tax every gun sold and register every gun owner.”

George Thornton, the CEO of the National Wild Turkey Federation, said his group agrees with LaPierre's positions, even though not all of the gun-control proposals would directly affect hunters.

“You really don't need large clips for hunting,” he said. “However, I have a very strong belief when you start to limit things, that the limits continue to chip away.”

LaPierre said a universal background check would not stop criminals or the mentally ill from getting firearms.

“Even when prohibited people are flagged by the system now, they are almost never stopped,” he said.

Mark Kelly, husband of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in 2011, said in a statement that background checks are a simple and fair way to keep children safe.

“If a dangerous criminal can't buy a gun in a store, they shouldn't be able to buy a gun at a gun show or on the Internet,” he said. “That's just common sense.”

While LaPierre was critical of the president in the speech, the remarks were milder than sentiments he expressed in an opinion piece published this week by The Daily Caller, a conservative website, in which he predicted the president's financial policies will lead to chaos.

“Nobody knows if or when the fiscal collapse will come, but if the country is broke, there likely won't be enough money to pay for police protection. And the American people know it,” LaPierre wrote.

TribLive commenting policy

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments  either by the same reader or different readers.

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sent via e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.

Total Promotional Solutions

A division of Trib Total Media is your one-stop-shop for all of your branded merchandise needs.

We specialize in providing quality affordable promotional products for every type of business including non-profits, schools, universities, sports teams and more. With 1000’s of products to choose from, our knowledgeable staff can help you find the perfect apparel item or product to suit your needs and budget.

Digital Sales

We offer a wide variety of traditional and new digital advertising options customized to fit your needs!

Whether you're just starting out, or you've been a keystone in the community for years, our knowledgeable staff can provide you with a customized package including online banners/advertisements, Social Media Marketing (Facebook / Twitter), Website development, Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing solutions and much more!

Contact your local sales rep today for details, personalized proposal and a meeting to discuss how we can meet your needs.